Writer’s Block, Resistance, and The Art of Turning Pro
REVIEW: The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield (Black Irish Books, 2012). Resistance is the name that best-selling author Steven Pressfield gives to writer's block and those things, both internal and external,...
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How to Fix Character Development Problems with Action Objectives
REVIEW: Getting Into Character: 7 Secrets a Novelist Can Learn from Actors by Brandilyn Collins. [This is Part 2. Click here for Part 1.] Kurt Vonnegut has some great, snappy sayings about writing. Here’s one of my favorites: “Every character should want something,...
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7 Secrets Writers Can Learn from Actors
REVIEW: Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn from Actors by Brandilyn Collins (Wiley 2002). If you’re like me, character is tough. Sure, I can get a character sketch together, but it's hard turning that sketch into a living breathing person. Some...
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Why Writing Dreams Depend on Writing Goals
The single most important step in the realization of your writing dream is setting a goal. It’s for this reason that the process of goal setting figures prominently into the programs of every self-help/ life-coach everrrrrrrrrrrrr. Not an exaggeration. Check out the...
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Writing Picture Books with Ann Whitford Paul (Part 2)
Incidental vs. Cause-and-Effect Action: Do You Know the Difference? This is Part 2 of my look at Ann Whitford Paul’s Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide From Story Creation to Publication (Writers Digest Books, 2009). You can read Part 1, which is about the one...
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Writing Picture Books with Ann Whitford Paul (Part 1)
Ann Whitford Paul’s Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide From Story Creation to Publication (Writers Digest Books, 2009) is considered one of THE standard books on the craft of writing picture books. (See the Amazon carousel below for some of my favorites). And for...
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Why You Should Try #NANOWRIMO
REVIEW: Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within 2nd Edition by Natalie Goldberg (Shambhala 2006) #NANOWRIMO has inspired me. It’s exactly what I needed. Not to write a novel, but help get me back into the habit of writing naked. It’s hard to write naked. It...
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10 Writing Tips from Hemingway, Atwood, Gaiman, Leonard, and Everyone Else!
Check out my newest Flipboard Magazine! I've collected over 30 articles from various sources featuring famous writers talking about writing. You've seen articles like "10 Writing Tips From Hemingway," or "Neil Gaiman's 8 Writing Practices" right? Well, they're all...
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